Ceremony Marking the Anniversary of the Establishment of the Iranian Air Force Held in California

On the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the establishment of the Iranian Air Force, a commemorative ceremony for this force and its pilots and personnel was held by a group of Iranians in the state of California, USA. The ceremony took place on Friday, June 2, at the Richard Nixon Library in Yorba Linda, where several senior pilots of this force from the era of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, who are now elderly, and their families attended. Prince Reza Pahlavi, the former crown prince of Iran, also attended this commemoration, calling the Imperial Iranian Air Force 'one of the best and most advanced air forces in the world at historical junctures in defending Iran.' The Imperial Iranian Air Force was established by the command of Reza Shah when he was the Prime Minister and Minister of Defense during the reign of Ahmad Shah, the last king of the Qajar dynasty. This force officially began operations in 1924 and expanded during the reign of Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, which was facilitated by purchasing advanced fighter jets from the United States and training hundreds of Iranian pilots at American bases. Prince Pahlavi, who spent three years of his adolescence flying in the Iranian Air Force, stated at the ceremony: 'The Air Force was an effective deterrent in defending Iran during the height of the Cold War and simultaneously a factor in establishing peace and stability in regional and trans-regional conflicts.' In the early post-revolution period, many Air Force pilots were executed, and Reza Pahlavi mentioned several of them, including Nader Jahanbani, Manouchehr Khosrodad, Ayat Mohagheghi, and Saeed Mahdiyoun. He also discussed how supporters of the 1979 Revolution weakened the Air Force. In the days leading up to the victory of the 1979 Revolution, airmen and non-commissioned officers loyal to Ruhollah Khomeini played a significant role in the dismissal, arrest, and even execution of high-ranking commanders and officers of this force, resulting in the weakening of the combat capability of the Imperial Air Force and a severe reduction in the number of operational aircraft and helicopters. After the 1979 Revolution, the Air Force Day was changed from June 1 to February 8, and it is now referred to as the day of 'the airmen's allegiance to Ruhollah Khomeini.' On Friday, at the mentioned ceremony, Sharona Nazarian, the Iranian-American Deputy Mayor of Beverly Hills, and Zahra Mizrahi, an Iranian-American lawyer and co-founder of the Iranian-American civil action 'Pakaan,' also spoke.